Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1197762
12 • Footwear Insight ~ January 2020 footwearinsight.com Rapid Fire with JackRabbit's Bill Kirkendall B ill Kirkendall, CEO of active retailer JackRabbit Sports, is bullish on the specialty channel. The Denver-based group, a division of CriticalPoint Capital, now operates 135 brick-and-mortar shops in 17 states after the October 2019 acquisition of 75 Olympia Sports doors. (It also operates e-tail sites Jackrabbit. com, Clevertraining. com, and Surfoutfitter. com.) Like other locations including Kansas City' Gary Gribble's Running Sports and Boulder, CO's Boulder Running Co., Olympia Sports will continue to operate under its own banner, part of the retailer's strategy to emphasize the brick-and- mortar shop's local roots. Here, Kirkendall sounds off on trail, staying nimble, and what consumers are looking for. (And for more, see our podcast interview with Kirkendall on FootwearInsightExtra.com) — Bob McGee LIGHTNING ROUND "I'd say the specialty run market has stabilized [after] several years prior that were negative growth in the channel. People are living longer, and the active lifestyle culture isn't a fad — and the foundation for an active lifestyle is running and walking." "The advantages are scale. It allows us to provide more resources, tools for our staff, more advancement for our staff, larger benefit packages. It allows us to create a more competitive cost structure in our business and it allows us to continue to build an omnichannel model. You need that to compete in today's retail market. When you're larger, you're able to execute on that strategy." "We'll have 4,000 events in our stores this year, from fun runs to nutrition classes to yoga classes to all different types of events." Nutrition, recovery, footwear. On the specialty channel: What JackRabbit brings to the market: "People are looking for fit. They have issues; they come to us for solutions. They are looking for knowledge, they are looking for information, they're looking for the right shoes." On what consumers want: On building consumer connections: On growth categories: